by Staff WritersWashington (UPI) Jan 28, 2008
An $89,000 carbon offset program initiated in the U.S. House of Representatives stirred debate over the controversial green initiative, officials said.

The Democrat-led House launched the program in November as part of a "Green the Capitol" initiative meant to cancel greenhouse gas emissions in Washington by funding reductions elsewhere, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Environmental groups said the move lacks "additionality," meaning the funding should target new programs otherwise not implemented.

"If you don't have additionality," said one consultant to companies receiving the offsets, "you know what you're getting. You're getting nothing."

The House purchased the offsets on the Chicago Climate Exchange and its managers countered the concerns saying, "we can't, as an exchange, trade hypothetical things."

Chief Administrative Officer for the House of Representatives Daniel P. Beard said the House requested the Chicago exchange withhold information on projects receiving the offsets to avoid potential for representatives earmarking legislation for their particular districts, the Post said.

Walker's World: Europe's Green wars beginWashington (UPI) Jan 28, 2008 It is ironic that Europe, which likes to think of itself as the center of environmental correctness and the green revolution, should now be the scene of a sharp political struggle over its ambitious emissions targets. Indeed, few EU proposals have aroused quite such a chorus of complaint and derision.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement